Whilst the Conservative Party spring forum takes place in Cheltenham, the Ulster Unionst Party Annual General Meeting is being held in Belfast.

David Cameron is obviously unable to be there in person, but he sent a video message in which he reaffirmed his commitment to the new political force which is bringing the two parties together to fight Westminster and European elections.

He was especially keen to highlight his desire to see MPs from all parts of the UK - not least Northern Ireland - playing a full role in the nation's politics and government:

"I believe the time is right for Northern Ireland to be brought back into the mainstream of United Kingdom politics... I want MPs from Northern Ireland serving in a Conservative
Government at Westminster. I want to draw on the talents of people from
all parts of the United Kingdom. That's my selfish strategic interest. Northern Ireland can move on from focusing on constitutional battles, because the constitutional issue is settled."

He also talked about the forthcoming Euroepan election, for which UUP MEP Jim Nicholson will be the first candidate seeking election under the new banner:

"It is vital that we get Jim Nicholson returned to the European
Parliament and for him to take his place as part of the strong
Conservative team of MEPs. He will be part of the only group of
UK MEPs committed to co-operating in Europe rather than centralising
more power there; and to bringing some powers back to the UK where they
belong. Jim has my full backing as the joint candidate of the
Conservatives and Unionists at these elections, and I look forward to
campaigning with him next month."

Yesterday I urged David Cameron to clear his diary and write his own solution to the crisis that threatens to destroy MPs' standing. Mr Cameron's Northern Ireland spokesman Owen Paterson has given him one component of that solution: Sinn Féin MPs should end their boycott of Westminster and represent their constituents OR lose their taxpayer-funded allowances. They must be forced to abandon their 'principled' opposition to sitting in the House of Commons or they must abandon the UK taxpayers' allowances.

This morning's Daily Mail reported that "Sinn Fein MPs claim £500,000 of your money to pay for London flats (even though they never go to Parliament)."

Tim Montgomerie

Owen Paterson provides this information by way of background: "The issue of paying allowances to elected Members of Parliament who do not take their seats is not part of the Good Friday and St Andrews Agreements. The issue was raised by Sinn Féin in 1997 with the then Speaker Betty Boothroyd, who refused permission on grounds that the House of Commons did not permit what she described as “associate membership”. The Labour Government returned to this issue in 2001 and whilst the then leader of the House, Robin Cook, confirmed that this was a House of Commons matter, through the mechanism of a motion in Parliament, certain allowances were voted through by the Labour majority. The then Shadow Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, Quentin Davies, bitterly opposed this. His successor, David Lidington, consistently stated his opposition saying that “Sinn Féin MPs should not be paid parliamentary salaries or be allowed to claim expenses while they refuse to take their seats in parliament.” The referendums in 1998 legitimised the current political arrangements. Meanwhile, Sinn Féin have dropped their policy of abstentionism in the Dáil and at Stormont."

Following on from yesterday's resignation of one of the four Conservatives on the joint UUP-Conservative committee tasked with overseeing the two parties' electoral alliance, the UUP leader, Sir Reg Empey, has made an intervention that will surely unnerve many Conservatives.

Writing in the News Letter, the Northern Irish newspaper read most widely among the unionist community, this is what he has to say about the Conservative Party:

"I think it needs to be borne in mind that the present Conservative
Party is no longer a right-wing party in any real sense of that term.
On a number of issues it is clearly to the left of Labour."

He makes this assertion in relation to David Cameron and Iain Duncan Smith's policies to mend Britain's "broken society".

Sir Reg is correct to suggest that those policies will indeed offer hope and help to working class voters in Belfast and elsewhere in Northern Ireland.

But I would venture that his choice of terminology - designed, I imagine, to placate Labour sympathisers in the UUP - is clumsy, incorrect and unhelpful in equal measures.

It's a shame, since most of the rest of his article is absolutely spot on in its promotion of the new political force as an opportunity to "put Northern Ireland at the very heart of UK politics".

A campaign director for the new force will be appointed shortly - and the sooner he or she is in place the better. Hopefully that will ensure a more joined-up approach and avoid this kind of political mistake.

Saturday Update: The Board of the Conservative Party has suspended Jeff Peel as an Area Officer for "failing to respect agreed protocols concerning websites and external communications", while Mr Peel has enlarged upon his resignation to the News Letter.

Shadow Northern Ireland secretary Owen Paterson has regularly said throughout this process that it would not happen overnight, that there would be ups and downs, and that it would happen too quickly for some and at too slow a pace for others. He is also right in his assertion that the long term goal of normalising politics in Northern Ireland is both important and worthwhile. As such, I hope this minor hiccup will not be anything other than a momentary distraction.

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Jeffrey Peel, vice-chairman of the Conservatives in Northern Ireland, has today resigned from the joint Conservative-UUP committee which is overseeing the efforts to forge a new political force in the province to fight European and Westminster elections.

He claims that the Ulster Unionists have broken agreements about the banner and branding under which candidates would stand, and goes on to cast aspersions about the UUP's motives for participating the electoral alliance.

"Edward Kennedy may never have said outwardly he supported the IRA but he certainly leaned towards extreme Republicanism. He was certainly no friend of the UK. This honour is wholly inappropriate on the basis of the sleaze attached to him after the crash at Chappaquiddick, let alone his support for nationalism in Northern Ireland. It cheapens the whole honours system."

"For it is no exaggeration to say that Ted Kennedy did his damnedest to poison U.S.-UK relations over Ulster during the long decades in which he has castigated successive British governments. Rather than expressing any genuine commitment to peace in Northern Ireland, he would always play exclusively to his own Catholic-Irish voters in Massachusetts, whom he has represented in the Senate for more than 46 years."

Michael Ancram and Ann Widdecombe are also said to be disappointed although long-term Kennedy admirer, Simon Burns MP, will be sure to welcome the decision.

10.45am Statement from Michael Ancram MP: "I find it extraordinarily inappropriate that Ted Kennedy who was the champion of Irish nationalism and the opponent of unionism as well as a supporter of republicanism should be so honoured for his unhelpful one-sidedness in the Peace Process when others like Senator George Mitchell who went out of his way to be even-handed between both sides is not. But then under this Government so much else is upside down and perverse as well."

“I am delighted that the Conservative Party in Northern Ireland and the Ulster Unionists have made such great progress in creating a new electoral force in Northern Irish politics. The immediate task is ensuring that the Conservatives and Unionists top the poll in the European elections right across the United Kingdom. That will send a signal that Northern Ireland is turning away from the politics of polarisation. It will be a verdict on Labour’s disastrous decade of power and is the best way of defending Northern Ireland’s interests in Europe. We must all get behind Jim Nicholson, the Conservative and Unionist candidate – electing him to the largest UK delegation in the European parliament.”

>This morning's frontpage included links to last night's approval of the alliance by both Northern Ireland's Conservatives and the UUP.

Tory MEPs have this morning published their expenses for the last quarter of 2008.

Timothy Kirkhope MEP comments:

“Conservative MEPs are the first British delegation in the European Parliament to voluntarily publish details of our allowances and expenses. I hope that other parties will follow now that we have led the way. We now have in place a system that ensures greater openness and transparency, and goes significantly beyond the rules set down by the European Parliament."

The Tory delegation (with quite a bit of encouragement from David Cameron) is to be congratulated for leading the way on transparency.

Via this link you can inspect all MEPs' recent expenses and the names of their staffers (including family members employed).

Unlike all other retiring Tory MEPs Christopher Beazley has not published his expenses, however. Mr Beazley is on 'defection watch'. It is feared that this ardent Europhile might defect closer to June's European Elections.

More worryingly the UUP MEP Jim Nicholson hasn't declared either. He is now supposed to be a de facto member of the Tory delegation and he needs to be transparent too. A job for Owen Paterson?

Northern Ireland's 'Consultative Group on the Past', co-chaired by Lord Eames and Denis Bradley, is to ask Gordon Brown to authorise £12,000 payments to the families of those who lost their lives in 'The Troubles' - including the families of IRA terrorists. The overall cost of the plan would be about £40m.

Owen Paterson, Shadow Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, issued this statement last night:

“I look forward to reading the full report next week but I could not support this particular proposal to reward all victims indiscriminately if it is included. Those people who carried out vicious acts of violence against innocent civilians and members of the legally established security forces cannot be put on the same level as their victims - any attempt to do so would be repugnant.”

The leaked recommendations were welcomed by Sinn Fein but the DUP First Minister Peter Robinson attacked them as "disappointing and disturbing".

Whilst Tony Blair-style Northern Ireland clichés about "the hand of history" are probably best avoided, it certainly marks the beginning of a new chapter in Northern Ireland politics and is another step on the road to "normalising" politics in the province.

And it must not be underestimated how much credit is due to Owen Paterson, the shadow Northern Ireland secretary, for bringing this deal about.

It was over a year ago that he quietly began putting feelers out to like-minded individuals in the UUP about seriously bringing the parties closer together again. He then met UUP leader Sir Reg Empey at the beginning of this year, after which a secret working group was established to discuss the matter further.

Amazingly, this close-knit group managed to keep their negotiations secret and out of the media until deciding to float their ideas in public in July.

Throughout the process Owen has been assiduously visiting Northern Ireland every week, often spending two days a week there during recesses. His commitment to what is often regarded as a minor shadow cabinet post has been total.

Praise is also due to David Cameron for being willing to stick his neck out and commit to the project and to Neil Johnston, the area chairman of the Northern Ireland Conservatives (and one-time Tory agent in Battersea) for his role in bringing about the agreement. And then there are others who have long cherished this development such as Jonathan Caine, for many years the Conservative Party's guru on Northern Ireland affairs, who has worked behind the scenes for over a decade to bring the parties closer together.

Further to our coverage yesterday of the proposed pact between the Ulster Unionists and the Conservative Party, the UUP Executive last night voted overwhelmingly in favour of an electoral alliance with the Tories for Westminster and European elections.

The first step in the process is the formation of a Conservative and Ulster Unionist Joint Committee to oversee and facilitate the co-operation between the parties. According to a statement put out by the UUP, the committee will be tasked with "bringing forward proposals on manifesto
commitments and the branding of candidates, ensuring that the heritage and
appeal of both parties are respected and that the popular appeal to the
whole Northern Ireland electorate is maximised".

Its first report is due by the end of January, well in advance of the first test for the new arrangement, the European Parliament election in June.

David Cameron has expressed his excitement at the news:

"I am delighted by this agreement between the
Conservatives and the Ulster Unionists. It will give all the people of
Northern Ireland, for the first time in decades, a new choice in
politics. For too long Northern Ireland has been outside of the
mainstream of politics in the United Kingdom. This new political force
will help change that, and allow everyone in Northern Ireland to
participate fully in political life both in Northern Ireland and
throughout the United Kingdom."

His comments were echoed by shadow Northern Ireland secretary, Owen
Paterson, after a unanimous decision by Northern Ireland Conservative
Party members also to back the alliance:

"I am very pleased that a new political force will be
created. This will give real influence to all Northern Ireland voters
on the crucial day to day issues such as taxation, pensions and the
economy."

The UUP has its annual conference on December 6 and there is much speculation that David Cameron will attend in order to hail the new alliance in person.

Update - It is being reported that the UUP Executive has backed the move as outlined below. We will cover the story and bring you reaction here on ToryDiary in the morning

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The Belfast News Letter and BBC Northern Ireland are reporting that tonight the Ulster Unionist Party's executive committee will be meeting to decide on its future relationship with the Conservative Party.

Back in July, UUP leader Sir Reg Empey and David Cameron co-wrote a piece in the Daily Telegraph in which they signalled their desire for closer co-operation between their two parties and discussions have been ongoing ever since as to what form that co-operation will take.

I understand that David Cameron had hoped for a decision to be announced at the Tory conference in Birmingham, but as is ever the case in Northern Ireland politics, negotiations rarely adhere to timetables and so we have been waiting for some time for these talks to come to a conclusion.

The BBC suggests that whilst there will not be a formal merger and the parties will remain separate entities, a new Conservative and Ulster Unionist Joint Committee would be set up so that joint candidates could be fielded for Westminster and European elections. It cites a UUP source as saying that the deal was "95 per cent complete".

Assuming there is not a snap general election in the spring, this would mean that UUP MEP Jim Nicholson would be the first person to seek election under the new arrangement when he stands again for the European Parliament next June.

If a deal is struck, credit will be particularly due on the Tory side to Owen Paterson, the shadow Northern Ireland secretary, who has been assiduously visiting the province on a weekly basis and doing much to bring the parties together.